Posts under ‘Libya’

Oil prices fell last week after the IEA and OPEC reported in their respective oil market reports that the supply-demand rebalancing of oil will take longer than market expectations. The WTI (WTI) and Brent were down by almost 2% and were trading at $43.3 and $45.77 at the time of writing this article. Even the U.S rig count increased for the 12th week in a row. Oil prices are going down as markets have realized that global oil supplies are only going to increase in the coming time. “It really looks similar to the period of the early 1990s, when we were at $20 oil. Is $45 to $50 the new $20? I am not ready to say we are in this new equilibrium environment, but it sure does feel like we’re moving in that direction,” said the head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Jeff Curie. It must be noted that investment firms such as Goldman Sachs have started lowering their 2017 forecast for oil prices. Let us look at those factors that are putting downward pressure on oil.

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OPINION ARTICLE BY DANIEL YERGIN PUBLISHED IN PRINT BY THE NEW YORK TIMES ON SATURDAY 25 JAN 2015

WASHINGTON — A HISTORIC change of roles is at the heart of the clamor and turmoil over the collapse of oil prices, which have plummeted by 50 percent since September. For decades, Saudi Arabia, backed by the Persian Gulf emirates, was described as the “swing producer.” With its immense production capacity, it could raise or lower its output to help the global market adjust to shortages or surpluses.

But on Nov. 27, at the OPEC meeting in Vienna, Saudi Arabia effectively resigned from that role and OPEC handed over all responsibility for oil prices to the market, which the Saudi oil minister, Ali Al-Naimi, predicted would “stabilize itself eventually.” OPEC’s decision was hardly unanimous. Venezuela and Iran, their economies in deep trouble, lobbied hard for production cutbacks, to no avail. Afterward, Iran accused Saudi Arabia of waging an “oil war” and being part of a “plot” against it.

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Major Opec nations, Russia and US shale oil drillers now appear on the brink of a price war as these three giant producing blocs fight for a greater share of global demand. (Potentially disastrous news for Big Oil – ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron and Total)

The Telegraph: World on brink of oil price war as Opec set to keep pumping

Extracts

Oil slumped on Wednesday as expectations that Opec will cut production faded following dovish remarks by cartel kingpin Saudi Arabia, which could signal the beginning of a price war. Crude traded in the US fell to as low as $74 per barrel as traders bet that Opec will allow the price to fall further amid growing signs of a global price war amid producers.

Major Opec nations, Russia and US shale oil drillers now appear on the brink of a price war as these three giant producing blocs fight for a greater share of global demand.

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For nearly a hundred years the Royal Dutch Shell Group has appeased and collaborated with evil regimes including Nazi Germany, Nigeria, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iran, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Apartheid South Africa and with Putin of Russia, despite his annexation of Sakhalin2 and Crimea. Anything to earn a buck irrespective of ethics, human rights abuses and massive corruption. Astonishingly, Shell claims to operate with a set of business principles. Shell’s latest CEO, Ben van Beurden, is shown bowing to Putin on 18 April 2014, soon after Russia had used force to annexe Crimea. No shame. No morals. Its just business. It is what Ben van Beurden describes as Shell’s “economic interests.” Following in the foot steps of the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, the ardent Nazi, Sir Henri Deterding.

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For over a 100 years, Shell has been driven by unscrupulous greed as its sole motivator. Shell funded Hitler and the Nazis party and has subsequently done business with a string of evil regimes, including General Sani Abacha, Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein and the Mad Mullahs of Iran. Putin is but the latest power mad egomaniac to be treated like royalty by Shell. Bowed to and fawned over on Good Friday by the overpaid bootlicker, Ben van Beurden.

Just as the United States resolved in the aftermath of World War II to counter the Soviet Union and its global ambitions, Mr. Obama is focused on isolating President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia by cutting off its economic and political ties to the outside world, limiting its expansionist ambitions in its own neighborhood and effectively making it a pariah state.

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There are 47 pages in all, many marked as confidential. The leaked files include a history of Shell’s long involvement with Libya, confidential technical information, confidential strategies and plans, including projections stretching many years ahead.

By John Donovan

We have combined a number of leaked files relating to Shell’s operations in Libya and have published them online.

There are 47 pages in all, many marked as confidential.

The leaked files include a history of Shell’s long involvement with Libya, confidential technical information, confidential strategies and plans, including projections stretching many years ahead.

The information is likely to be of interest to academics and even more so to Shell’s rivals, who may find some of it invaluable.

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Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said on Wednesday that it remained interested in oil and gas exploration opportunities in Libya after abandoning drilling in two blocks earlier this year.

Shell told Reuters in May that it planned to exit from the LNGDA and area 89 after disappointing results, prompting concerns that the OPEC country would struggle to reach future production targets.

“That was just a project exit. We did not exit Libya,” said Nureddin Wefati, head of media relations for Shell’s upstream activities in the Middle East and North Africa, at the North Africa Oil and Gas Summit.

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From our October 2005 Shell News Archive

The Seoul Times: NOC of Libya, Shell Agree on Major Gas Deal

“Shell’s Executive Director for Exploration and Production, Mr Malcolm Brinded, said: We are delighted to be back in Libya and honoured to work together with NOC…”: “I am excited about concluding this major agreement.”

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

By Jamal Al Majaida
Middle East & Africa

The National Oil Corporation of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (NOC) and Shell Exploration and Production Libya GmbH have reached a long-term agreement for a major gas exploration and development deal.

The agreement covers the rejuvenation and upgrade of the existing LNG Plant at Marsa Al-Brega on the Libyan coast, together with exploration and development of five areas located in the heart of Libya’s major oil and gas producing Sirte Basin.

Libya is now producing 1.5m barrels of high-quality oil a day. But with exploration by BP and Shell so far disappointing, British involvement in the country remains slow

A decade ago Libya was at the centre of dramatic stories alleging cloak-and-dagger diplomacy between then-BP boss Lord Browne, Colonel Gaddafi and MI6 agents. And barely 12 months ago British warplanes were in action over Tripoli – this time fighting to topple the North African dictator former prime minister Tony Blair had previously decided to embrace.

But if these two events were seen by critics as the UK manoeuvring for an “oil boom” that would benefit both countries and an energy-hungry Blighty economy, it must be deemed a bit of a failure.

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DUBAI–Libya’s state oil company Sunday criticized Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) for its decision to abandon exploration blocks in Libya, and said that Shell “has generally not achieved any encouraging results” in the North African country.

In a statement posted on its website, Libya’s National Oil Corp., or NOC, said it hadn’t received prior notice from Shell of its intention to give up its exploration permits, which covered several areas in the Sirte basin.

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We have received further confidential information from disgruntled Shell Libya security staff; namely VIP Recruitment Records for Shell Libya.

These records shows a system was set up by Shell so that relatives of senior members of the Gaddafi regime, including government ministers, Libyan Ambassadors, the head of the Libyan Investment Fund and officials from the Libya National Oil Corporation, were all given preferential treatment for Shell job applications.

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We have already published an article containing a leaked email purportedly sent on 14 June 2012 by disgruntled Shell Exploration & Production Libya staff to senior Shell managers. Shell claims that it is withdrawing from Libya because of a deteriorating security situation. It self-evidently prefers to do business with dictators (a policy stretching back to Hitler).

The disgruntled employees – 17 in total, are all members of Shell’s security staff in Libya.

We now have a Statement of Complaint signed by all 17, detailing serious allegations against Salah Alshaafi, the chief of the Shell Security team.

The move to drill in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea would help the oil giant gain advantage in the global race to tap Arctic energy resources. The plan is “progressing very well,” Voser said. “With the support of regulators and local communities, we are working toward drilling by summer.”

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HOUSTON  Royal Dutch Shell remains confident it will be able to start exploring for oil in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Alaska this summer, the companys Executive Vice President for Exploration David Lawrence said Wednesday.

As long we continue to meet critical milestones we will drill this summer, Lawrence told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview in the sidelines of IHS CERA conference in Houston.

Shell has been seeking permits to drill in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas off the north coast of Alaska for several years and has spent more than $4 billion to prepare for exploratory drilling. The company has already obtained several key approvals but it still needs to cross several more regulatory barriers before it will be permitted to begin drilling in July. It also faces opposition from several environmental groups.

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TRIPOLI, Libya, Jan. 5 (UPI) — The post-war government in Libya told the Dutch ambassador existing contracts with Royal Dutch Shell were still valid, the country’s oil minister said.

As of November, the International Energy Agency said Libyan oil production was around 500,000 barrels per day, up from the 75,000 recorded in September. Before the war began in March, Libya was producing around 1.6 million bpd.

Production in the country is returning faster than most analysts expected when NATO forces established a no-fly zone over the country last year.

Royal Dutch Shell, plc, one of the largest energy companies in the world, is interested in exploring low-energy nuclear reaction research as a possible game-changer in the energy business.

Two Shell scientists, Anitha Sarkar and Gilles Buchs, with the backing of the Shell GameChanger program, are looking for opportunities to work actively with Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR) experts, according to a brief introduction the researchers prepared.

Both companies are evaluating whether to resume drilling at wells begun in the North African state before the outbreak of hostilities at the start of this year, BP Chief Executive Officer Robert Dudley and Shell head Peter Voser said yesterday in Doha, Qatars capital.

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Saif was a key player in Libyas campaign to renounce nuclear status and became close to leading figures after Mr Blair signed the deal in the desert in March 2004, which saw British firms such as BP and Shell sign massive contracts with the Libyans.

Links: Blair and Gadaffi pictured in 2007 – will he be squirming regarding Saif’s capture?

By REBECCA EVANS and TOM KELLY

Last updated at 1:28 PM on 21st November 2011

Tony Blairs close relationship with the Gaddafi family was yesterday dismissed by an ally as a mere lapse of judgment.

Lord Goldsmith, who served as Mr Blairs Attorney General for six years, said that cosying up to Colonel Gaddafi was trivial when compared with the crimes of the former Libyan dictators bloody regime.

His comments followed claims that the capture of the tyrants playboy son Saif could cause acute potential embarrassment for Britains political elite.

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After 11 years and $39 billion of investment, Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and their partners have yet to sell a drop of oil from what was touted as the worlds biggest discovery in four decades.

The report was made on behalf of Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands)
Author: Albert ten Kate: May 2011.

In May 2005, Shell signed an agreement to start a joint venture with the Libyan National Oil Corporation. The joint venture would revamp and expand the existing liquified natural gas (LNG) Plant at Marsa el-Brega on the Libyan coast. It would also explore for gas and subsequently develop five areas totalling 20,000 square kilometres located in the heart of Libyas Sirte Basin. Shell was committed to invest USD 637 million in the first phase of the joint venture.

Already in March 2004, Malcolm Brinded, head of exploration and production at Shell, stated: We were in Libya in the Fifties and we were in Libya in the Eighties for an exploration programme, but for this one we came back in 2001 and so this is the culmination of discussions over that. International sanctions on Libya were lifted in 2003 and 2004. Thus, Shell had been fishing for contracts from Gaddafi a long time before international sanctions were lifted.

COMMENTS FROM A ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RETIREE ON CURRENT NEWS STORIES

Few people probably realise this is a nightmare and very likely unstoppable until the whole aquifer runs out of energy. Compare it with a blow-out. I think it is a major mishap but have no other info then what I read in the article.

And the oilwells in Sakhalin going to sand is a disaster of great magnitude.

With winter starting they presumably cannot re-enter the wells and try to fix it. It also shows the original design was flawed. I bet that even those atheist Russians (and the secular Shell folk as well) are praying the same will not happen on the gaswells because then they really are f*cked!

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(Reuters) – Executives from Royal Dutch Shell held talks with Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli on Wednesday, a source said, as more majors return to the war-torn country to grasp new opportunities and make sure old deals are valid.

“There were discussions about the procedures to come back to Libya,” said a source in Libya with direct knowledge of the meeting.

The report is made on behalf of Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands)
Author: Albert ten Kate: May 2011.

Interfering with politics

Improper involvement?

Oil and politics have a lot to do with each other. The home states of Royal Dutch Shell are the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. These countries might want to secure their oil/gas imports and the economic benefits of having an international oil company based within their territory. These interests might overpower ethical interests, such as the protection of human rights in countries hosting the oil company. Home states often might have the same business interest than their oil companies.

“You can be Sure of Shell”

The legendary crooner, Bing Crosby, sung the praises of Shell in the 1950’s.

MICHAEL HOLIDAY VERSION

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IdhOXh_g7s

Our research indicates that the slogan

“YOU CAN BE SURE OF SHELL”…

was first used in Great Britain by Shell in 1937 (right) months after the forced resignation of Sir Henri Deterding, the man most responsible for the creation and global success of the Royal Dutch Shell Group.

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*SHELL DEALING WITH THE DEVIL AGAIN:

Voser insisted the North African dictatorship was ‘still under development and is evolving into democratic structures over time’. And despite saying Libya was ‘rather small for Shell’, he refused to profess any discomfort at the firm’s cosy relationship with Gaddafi, based on a £ 375m exploration deal signed in 2005 with the blessing of former Prime Minister Tony Blair

Fuelling a growth support

Shell boss Peter Voser said the oil supermajor stood ready to ship extra gas to tsunami-hit Japan but has refused to distance the company from the regime of Libyan tyrant Colonel Gaddafi.

Speaking as he showed off an ambitious $100bn ( £ 62.2bn) growth plan, the Swiss chief executive said Shell had diverted boatloads of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan, to address the power shortfall caused by its nuclear crisis.

But he offered no firm stance on Libya, saying Shell would ‘see things unfolding … and then we’ll take a decision’ on how to proceed.

Voser insisted the North African dictatorship was ‘still under development and is evolving into democratic structures over time’.

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ARISE SIR MALCOLM…

The unscrupulous Royal Dutch Shell fat cat, Malcolm Brinded, with the aid of the sleazy duo Blair and Prince Andrew (aka “Air Miles Andy”), sold out the relatives and victims of Pan Am 103 by getting Shell into bed with the mass murderer, Gaddafi.

Regular readers of this blog will know that we have consistently made forthright comments about the dubious circumstances of Shell’s return to Libya and the deranged despot, Gaddafi.

We were never fooled by the claims that he was a reformed sponsor of international terrorism.

The reply to my email concerning our intention to publish related information from “A History of Royal Dutch Shell”, authored by Shell’s paid historians, is the first time we have managed to elicit any comment from Shell on the subject.

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We have in recent years published a number of articles drawing attention to Shell getting into bed with the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was presented as being a reformed character, despite his notorious track record as the principal financier of international terrorism.

Gaddafi financed the Black September Movement, which carried out the massacre in Munich at the 1972 Summer Olympics and also financed “Carlos the Jackal”.

Currently Shell is engaged in an evacuation plan to extract employees who otherwise might end up as hostages held by the supposedly benevolent dictator.

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AMSTERDAM Feb 22 (Reuters) – Oil major Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday that all its expat employees and their dependents in Libya, involved primarily in the company’s exploration activities in the country, had been relocated.

“Given the continuing uncertainty in Libya, Shell’s expatriate staff have now been temporarily relocated. Shell offices remain closed, and business continuity plans are in place,” a Shell spokeswoman said.

* Statoil, Shell, BP plan evacuations as unrest spreads

* Repsol, Eni say oil production unaffected

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – European oil and gas companies have evacuated staff and suspended drilling preparations in Libya as violence spreads across the north African country.

Norway’s Statoil, Austria’s OMV and Royal Dutch Shell have moved some staff as scores of anti-government protesters were killed in the country’s second-biggest city, Benghazi, and unrest spread to the capital Tripoli over the weekend.

Production at the Murzaq oil field run by Spain’s Repsol (REP.MC) has been unaffected so far, as has output from Eni’s operations.

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Under-fire oil company BP has started talking to leading shareholders about a radical restructuring, including a break-up of the business.

The early stage discussions with investors have focused on a possible sale of the group’s petrol stations and refineries, scaling back its troubled US operations and ramping-up in-house engineering instead of outsourcing.

Spinning off the oil major’s so-called ‘downstream’ assets has long been mooted by analysts and investors.

DAILY MAIL FRONT PAGE LEAD STORY SATURDAY 17 JULY 2010

EXTRACT: 2004: Prime Minister Tony Blair makes the first government visit to Libya since 1943. He offers the Colonel the ‘hand of friendship’. Big trade deals followed involving BP, Shell and BG Group.

Tony Blair was flown to Libya for secret talks with Colonel Gaddafi just days after denying he was an adviser to the dictator.

Mr Blair was ‘entertained as a brother’, a senior Libyan government source has revealed.

He told the Daily Mail that the former prime minister had offered Gaddafi, with whom he is on first-name terms, ‘a great deal of invaluable advice’.

Secret talks: Tony Blair was flown to Libya to discuss international and domestic issues with Colonel Gaddafi – days after denying he was an adviser to the dictator

From our Shell News Archive Sunday 20 November, 2005

AME Info (United Arab Emirates): Shell introduces innovative technology for water life cycle management in oil fields: Sunday 20 November 2005: READ BLOOMBERG: Putin to Seek Kurils Solution Through Economic Ties: In Sakhalin, Japanese companies are investing in at least two of five oil and gas projects that may spend $50 billion to supply Northeast Asia and the U.S. Exxon Mobil Corp., BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the biggest publicly traded oil companies, lead three of the ventures. Sunday 20 November 2005: READ

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Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates): Shell to step up upstream investment in Middle East

“Global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said it would significantly boost investments in the Middle East’s upstream sector following the recent signing of landmark business agreements in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Oman and Libya”

23 October 2005

BY ISAAC JOHN

DUBAI — Global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said it would significantly boost investments in the Middle East’s upstream sector following the recent signing of landmark business agreements in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Oman and Libya.

“During the past five years, Shell Upstream alone has invested some $2 billion in the region, and this figure is set to increase significantly,” said Raoul Restucci, Executive Vice-President for Shell Exploration & Production for the Middle East and the CIS.

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From our October 2005 Shell News Archive

The Seoul Times: NOC of Libya, Shell Agree on Major Gas Deal

“Shell’s Executive Director for Exploration and Production, Mr Malcolm Brinded, said: We are delighted to be back in Libya and honoured to work together with NOC…”: “I am excited about concluding this major agreement.”

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

By Jamal Al Majaida
Middle East & Africa

The National Oil Corporation of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (NOC) and Shell Exploration and Production Libya GmbH have reached a long-term agreement for a major gas exploration and development deal.

The agreement covers the rejuvenation and upgrade of the existing LNG Plant at Marsa Al-Brega on the Libyan coast, together with exploration and development of five areas located in the heart of Libya’s major oil and gas producing Sirte Basin.

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Lloyds List: Shell plans major LNG investment

“IT’S good to be back in Libya, says Malcolm Brinded, executive director for exploration and production at oil major Shell, as he announces the start of a huge new liquefied natural gas project centred at Marsa Al-Brega.”

Wednesday Sept 14, 2005

IT’S good to be back in Libya, says Malcolm Brinded, executive director for exploration and production at oil major Shell, as he announces the start of a huge new liquefied natural gas project centred at Marsa Al-Brega.

Shell and Libya’s National Oil Company are refurbishing and upgrading the existing LNG plant at Marsa Al-Brega on the Libyan coast, and exploring for hydrocarbons in the prolific onshore Sirte Basin.

US independent Marathon is looking at developing LNG facilities in Libya in the longer term, perhaps after 2009, says chief executive Clarence Cazelot.

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THE TIMES (UK): Bumper spending knocks Shell: “It said its spending programme would also reflect its involvement in Sakhalin II, the Siberian gas project where the budget has now doubled to $20 billion.”

Thursday 28 July 2005

By Miles Costello, Times Online

Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s third largest oil group, has reported a 34 per cent rise in second-quarter profits to $5.2 billion in its first set of results as a unified company.

But in a gently rising market this morning, shares in Shell had slipped 18p – or more than 1 per cent – to 1,772p.

The stock slipped as Shell confirmed a hike in the amount of capital it had invested in the second quarter to $4.1 billion, from $3.4 billion in the same quarter last year.

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Process & Control Today: Shell Agrees Libyan Exploration Deal

09/05/2005

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (NOC) and Shell Exploration and Production Libya GmbH (“Shell”) have reached a long-term agreement for a major gas exploration and development deal. The agreement covers the rejuvenation and upgrade of the existing Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Plant at Marsa Al-Brega on the Libyan coast, together with exploration and development of five areas located in the heart of Libya’s major oil and gas producing Sirte Basin. The contract follows the Heads of Agreement signed in March 2004 between NOC and Shell, in which both parties agreed to establish a long-term strategic partnership in the Libyan gas sector.

LONDON — The Libyan government has given the go-ahead for Libya to offer a second oil and gas bidding round to foreign oil majors, a top Libyan oil official said Friday.

Abdulla Salem El-Badri, chairman of the Libyan National Oil Co. (NOI.YY), told Dow Jones Newswires that as part of the latest auction, 26 energy contracts will be awarded Oct. 2 to international oil majors. He said the projects include 44 oil and gas blocks, based both offshore and onshore.

“We are optimistic and hopeful the latest round will be a big success, El-Badri said.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Shell, Libya Reach Gas Exploration Deal

LONDON (AP) — The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Cos. said Tuesday it has reached a long-term agreement for a major gas exploration and development deal with Libya’s National Oil Corp.

Shell said the agreement covers the rejuvenation and upgrade of the existing liquefied natural gas plant at Marsa Al-Brega on the Libyan coast and the exploration and development of five areas located in the heart of Libya’s major oil and gas producing Sirte Basin.

Shell’s return to Libya — where it was active from the 1950s until 1974 and where it conducted exploration in the late 1980s — has been aided by the country’s improved ties with the West following its announcement in December 2003 that it would dismantle its chemical, nuclear and biological programs.

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FINANCIAL TIMES: SHELL EXCITED BY LIBYAN GAS DEAL WITH ACCESS TO FIVE BLOCKS

By James Boxell

Published: May 4 2005

Royal Dutch/Shell has eased some of the disappointment about the loss of its Oman field by striking a gas exploration and development deal with Libya, its first big project in the energy-rich former pariah state for 30 years, writes James Boxell.

Shell will spend $105m (£55m) on renovating a liquefied natural gas plant on the Libyan coast and has been granted a licence to search for gas in five blocks in the Sirte basin, the country’s main energy-producing region.

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THE TIMES: Shell plans to pump £340m into Libya for gas exports

4 May 05

By Carl Mortished, International Business Editor

SHELL has secured a foothold in the development of a Libyan gas export industry, agreeing to invest up to $637 million (£337 million) in the country that a year ago emerged from pariah status when its leader, Colonel Gaddafi, renounced weapons of mass destruction.

Shell has agreed to rejuvenate and upgrade a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on the Libyan coast in a deal that also gives the company the right to explore for gas in an area covering 20,000 square kilometres of the Sirte Basin, a major oil and gas producing region.

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OVER 265 NEWS ARTICLES AND NEARLY 40 BOOKS, ALL CITING THIS WEBSITE: SEE INFORMATION BELOW

Links to a selection from over 265 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires etc., and almost 40 books containing references to this website, or its founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus a selection of academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, all citing this website. All in date order. Click on the link at the foot of this column to see the entire 265 plus news articles, again, all in date order.
Head-cut image appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.

DISCLAIMER

This is not a Shell website, nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell.
We operate on a non-profit basis with no subscription charges, no wages, no bonuses, no company pensions and no private jets. In comparison, Royal Dutch Shell Fat Cat Boss, Ben van Beurden, received a financial package worth $30 million USD in 2014.

SHELL PRELUDE TO DISASTER

The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell above, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects.

SHELL ROLE IN NIGERIAN OPL 245 BRIBERY SCANDAL

Whatever fig leaves they might be trying to use to hide the truth, Shell and Eni paid over $1bn to a company called Malabu for the OPL 245 licence. Even though the payment was channelled through the Nigerian government, it was clear that Shell knew that the ultimate beneficiary was Dan Etete, the former minister of petroleum. Etete is the owner of Malabu, to whom he awarded the licence when he was Nigerian Minister of Petroleum.

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL EMPLOYEE DATA BREACH

GLOBAL NEWS COVERAGE: FEBRUARY 2010
MORE INFORMATION: Contact details for over 176,000 employees and contractors of Royal Dutch Shell reached John Donovan and some environmental and human rights groups, ostensibly from disaffected Shell staff calling for a “peaceful corporate revolution” at the company. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, contained names and telephone numbers for all the company’s work force worldwide, including some home numbers. It was supplied with a 170­ page covering note, explaining that it was being circulated by “116 concerned employees of Shell dispersed throughout the USA, the UK, and the Netherlands”, to highlight the harm done by the company’s operations in Nigeria. John Donovan brought the leak to the attention of Shell. Tests proved that the data was authentic and he destroyed the database after being informed by Mr. Richard Wiseman, the then Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, that the confidential information if publicly disclosed, could put Shell employees and contractors in real danger.

NAZI NAMED SHIP HIRED BY SHELL

The campaign waged on this website by John Donovan to persuade Edward Heerema to rename the worlds biggest ship, The Pieter Schelte - which he named after his late father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, a former Officer in the German Waffen-SS - has been successful. On Friday 6 February 2015, Allseas announced that it was changing the ships name, and on 9 February announced the new name - Pioneering Spirit.

SHELL BLOG

Keis: Shell fired 5000 workers recently but kept government relations manager of Syria in Dubai without any tasks. Paid her salary and nobody know why!!!
She must have good connections somewhere!!!
Recently,she was promoted the title of government relations manager of Iran. She doesn't know anything about Iran let alone its government. BUT she got the job!!!
An obvious case of breach of so called Shell General Business Principals and nepotism!!!

regular browser: It is amazing that these "difficult choices" are all falling at the door of the lowest paid employees of Shell and yet the vastly inefficient and "fat" middle and upper level management just seems to keep on expanding. With such low activity levels due to the transition away from oil and gas, low oil price and smaller geographic focus of Shell one would have thought that these highly paid meeting organisers would face the chop rather than the people doing actual work. It is sad to say but it seems BvB has truly lost the plot after such a promising start and now tries to dig himself out of his own hubris after so many poor choices prime of which is the overpaying for BG.

Deadly Corrib Gas: Dear John,
I see you have already noted Engineers Ireland (EI) 'gong to selves' for what you rightly call 'the deadly Corrib Gas Project' (Shell to Sea remember the unnecessary death of Lars Wagner RIP, although EI appear to have wilfully forgotten it); it's not surprising you consider it odd but I'm afraid that continues to be how things are done in Ireland - incompetence gets the gong, integrity gets the boot.

All the best, from Maura Harrington, Shell to Sea.

Relieved: I was wondering what happened to the peak oil predictions of RDS and the collection of genius boffins Shell had working the problem. They have all apparently gone by the wayside, been retired, or met with some similar fate. Let's here it for Shell's crystal ball predictions by the best in the industry !!! Not.

Dutchdude: Van Beurden's announcement yesterday did not mention anything on the thousands of staff who are leaving the company this year. A small thanks would have been nice for those folks, of whom many have worked 20 to 30 years for Shell. I would recommend Shell senior leaders to have a close look who are leaving the business. I have to agree with Daniel, I don't see any powerpoint wizards leaving, just the ones with clear technical oil business competence.

Relieved: I have an interesting factoid that your readers might be interested in reading. In 1980 proven US oil reserves were at about 37 billion blls. Today, depending upon who you reference, they are somewhere between 35 billion and 240 billion bbls thanks to the oil shale boom. However, during the time period 1980 - 2016 over 110 billion bbls of oil were produced in the US from various basin, both onshore and offshore. What is my point ? My point is that we are not 'running out of oil' by any stretch of the imagination.

Shell Police Corruption Eire .: A second Irish Police Commissioner next week faces the very real possibility of dismissal because of her inability to control corruption in her force (documented daily here). She has chosen to remain stum on the demands of Shell CEO Terry Nolan to vendor to falsify a freely given statement pertaining to a criminal act in which a senior cop and Nolan played key rolls. Silly Woman?

Daniel: Its best to let go experienced technical staff. After all, its the manager with power point that add all the "value". When oil price recovers Shell is going to be very exposed with a lack of expertise. They will have both slices of bread (Upper Management & Junior Staff) but meat, very very sad.

Gold Grill: Peter Vosser must be wondering what happened to his Transition 2009 plans. Shell now has more SEG category staff (nearly 170) for 13 lines of business. This compares to just over 100 post transition 2009. The ratio of SEG to junior staff has got out of control with these highly paid executives pulling in nearly $150 million per annum surely now is the time to start pruning the top of the tree. I'm surprised Ben has let this top heavy organisation continue. I wonder who were making the decisions about which staff to let go, could it have been the SEG group?

Safety dude: @billcampbell
Sorry Bill but LTIF and TRCF are things of the past. We have moved on from those long time ago. Those were probably correct in your day but times change and we now use more meaningful indicators for both process and personal safety. These include leading indicators as well as lagging indicators. The TRCF and LTIF are still used for comparison purposes with other industry participants but they remain only a small part of performance measurement.

Relieved: When I first went to work for Shell many centuries ago ONE SHELL was the tallest building in Houston and Shell was a respected company. My,my, how things have changed. Shell's retreat to the burbs is very symbolic.

Heartbroken: @Bill Campbell. I applaud your bravery to stand up to the Shell bullies. I can't recall anyone having the principles and courage to stand up to the bullies in that disgustingly rancid place. Where are all the people that stood for something? Now staff are treated like numbers (cattle) with the constant threat of the sack hanging over them. Guantanamo C16 has even announced that it will start charging inmates to use the gym facilities. Our prison comrades in Houston have had their cells taken away from them and condemned to home incarceration. Someone mentioned core values. I fear a ban on using those words is not far away. RDS RIP

SHELL IP PIRACY

Reading between the lines in various legal documents, it seems that the allegations are that after the technology in question had been disclosed to a Shell company in the USA, the information was passed to Shell in the Netherlands in breach of confidentiality. And Royal Dutch Shell subsequently exploited the technology without payment or credit to the company holding the rights; Newton Research Partners. The inference seems to be that Twister B.V. was founded by Shell partly on trade secrets stolen from Bloom/Newton.

WEBSITE INFORMATION

DISCLAIMER: This is not a Shell website nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Originally co-founded by the late Alfred Donovan and his son John, it is now operated by John, Shell's "No.1 Enemy", aided by an expert team, with invaluable support from retired Shell senior executives and officials as guest contributors and leaked information from Shell insiders.(JOHN DONOVAN, WEBSITE OWNER)For nearly a decade, we have operated globally under the Royal Dutch Shell Plc top level domain name, dealing on Shell’s reluctant behalf with job applications, business proposals, Shell pension enquiries, shareholder enquiries, complaints, invitations to speak at conferences, an approach from the Dutch Defence Ministry and even terrorist threats. All meant for Shell. Prospect magazine has aptly described this website as being:"An open wound for Shell":WIPO proceedings by Shell to seize the domain name failed.NO SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES: All of our watchdog activities monitoring Royal Dutch Shell, including operating this website, are carried out on a non-profit basis. Any advertising revenues generated are used to recover and/or defray operational costs. We are a news aggregator and original content website. All information is available free for educational and research purposes. SHELL TACIT ENDORSEMENT: WHAT A WELL INFORMED SHELL OFFICIAL SAID ABOUT US:
"John and Alfred Donovan well known in UK/Hague. They perceive Shell played them and so have made it their mission to embarrass,belittle and criticize Shell, which they do quite well. Their website, royaldutchshellplc.com is an excellent source of group news and comment and I recommend it far above what our own group internal comms puts out."
WARNING TO SHELL EMPLOYEES: Shell Global Affairs Security "CAS") is spying on Shell employees globally trying to trace who is visiting, posting, or leaking information to this website from Shell premises. Threats, including death threats, have allegedly been made against conscience driven Shell whistleblowers supplying us with information. The worlds biggest leak of employee details as part of a claimed corporate revolution by 116 Shell employees, suggest the espionage operation, threats and draconian litigation have not been entirely successful in cutting off the supply of information to this website. The insider leaks had already cost Shell billions on the Sakhalin Energy project and the loss of SEIC Deputy Chairman, David Greer.We publish our own carefully researched articles about Shell e.g. "How Royal Dutch Shell saved Hitler and the Nazi Party".MEDIA COVERAGE: Prospect Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian, have all published major articles about us: "Rise of the Gripe Site";"Two men and a website mount vendetta against Shell' and "92-year-old's website leaves oil giant Shell-shocked”. SHELL PETROL STATION images displayed in the website header panel are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Information on copyright issues here.
John Donovan can be contacted at [email protected]

SHELL’S $500,000 WEDDING GIFT TO CORRUPT BRUNEI ROYAL FAMILY

EXTRACT FROM ASIAN JOURNAL ARTICLE IN LIST OF LINKS BELOW: "Fireworks will light up the sky for three nights. The local unit of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has donated 500,000 Brunei dollars (US$292,400; euro 243,700) for the display, and for cultural events to be hosted by popular performers from Malaysia."

BILL CAMPBELL WHISTLEBLOWER EMAIL TO MP’S

IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS:

THIS IS WHAT IT SAID:

Subject: This could be the most important whistleblower email you have ever received.

Some unfortunate Royal Dutch Shell workers have already lost their lives. More lives are at stake.

My name is Bill Campbell. I am a former Group Auditor of Shell International. I am writing to you on a matter of conscience in an effort to avert the inevitability of another major accident in the North Sea. The consequences could potentially impact on families in many constituencies, including your own.

As Royal Dutch Shell and the Health & Safety Executive would acknowledge, I am an expert on safety matters relating to offshore oil and gas platforms. In 1999, I was appointed by Shell to lead a safety audit on the Brent Bravo platform. The audit revealed a platform management culture that basically gave a higher priority to production than the safety of Shell employees. To our astonishment we discovered that a "Touch F*** All" policy was in place. Worse still, safety records were routinely falsified and repairs bodged.

I personally brought the shocking situation to the attention of senior management including Malcolm Brinded, the then Managing Director of Shell Exploration & Production. I revealed that ESDV leak-off tests were purposely falsified, not once but many times and that Brent Bravo platform management had admitted responsibility for the dangerous practices being followed. In response to my team ringing alarm bells, management pledged to rectify the serious problems which had been uncovered.

When I later complained that the pledges were not being kept, I was removed from my oversight function.

Four years later, a massive gas leak occurred on the platform. Two workers lost their lives. I have no doubt at all that the inaction of the relevant Asset Manager, the General Manager, the Oil Director and Malcolm Brinded, contributed in some part to the unlawful killing of two persons on Brent Bravo in September 2003.

Shell subsequently pleaded guilty to breaches of the HSE regulations and a record-breaking £900,000 fine was imposed. I thought this would bring about a real change in policy to put the emphasis on safety.

Unfortunately I was wrong. Although I supplied the evidence related to 1999, and the fact that there had been a collapse in controls of integrity from 1999 to 2003 on all 16 of Shell's North Sea offshore installations covered in a post fatality integrity review to the HSE for review by the Procurator Fiscal, none of this evidence was presented before the Sheriff at the subsequent Inquiry. The situation is explained in a letter to the Procurator Fiscal and the Sheriff (on 24th February 2007).

Shell management has engaged in spin to try to pretend that it is getting to grips with its safety problem. However, its atrocious safety record - the worst in the North Sea in terms of accidental deaths and absolute number of enforcement actions – tells a different story. This fact has resulted in a number of newspaper articles.

I have had meetings with senior Shell people including its CEO Mr. Jeroen van der Veer. I regret to say that I have found him to be economical with the truth. He prefers to support cover-up and deceit rather than confronting the underlying problems. Brinded is now Executive Director of Shell Exploration & Production. He believes in burying evidence.

My family and friends would probably prefer me to give up on this matter and enjoy my retirement after so many years working for Shell.

However, by writing to every MP in the UK, no one can ever say that I did not do my best to avert an inevitable further major accident event in the North Sea. When it happens (I pray that I am wrong) I will make this warning communication available to the media together with the vast amount of evidence in my possession.

At least my conscience is clear. I have done everything possible to ring the alarm bells about Shell management and its unscrupulous attitude to the safety of its employees.

Yours sincerely
Bill Campbell

ENDS

(Malcolm Brinded and Jeroen van der Veer are no longer with Shell. The Oil Director referred to in the email is Chris Finlayson, who left Shell to become Chief Executive of British Gas before being fired - his photo immediately below)

SHELL PERSECUTION OF DR JOHN HUONG

SHELL RESERVES FRAUD

SIR PHILIP WATTS, THE GROUP CHAIRMAN OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP, FORCED TO RESIGN IN 2004

Shell’s reputation was destroyed in 2004 after FIVE consecutive cuts to its hydrocarbon reserves covering 55% of its total reserves. US and UK financial regulators imposed $150 million in fines on Shell for securities fraud. Shell was also rocked by class action lawsuits.Sir Philip Watts
and Walter van de Vijver (whose headcut images appear courtesy of The Wall Street Journal) were among the Shell executives forced to resign. More details at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: The Shell reserves scandal brought about
the end of the Royal Dutch Shell Group in its original form as an Anglo-Dutch partnership.
Shell Transport & Trading Co and Royal Dutch Petroleum were unified into a single Dutch owned company - Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Sir Philip turned to religion and is now a very wealthy priest after receiving a payoff/pension package from Shell reportedly worth $18.5 million. Walter van de Vijver in contrast was the victim of a sadistic sacking by his Shell senior management backstabbing colleagues.

by John Donovan

Displayed below are some of the spectacular promotional campaigns my company Don Marketing created for Shell in the 1980s and 1990s. This was before the series of SIX high court actions we brought against Shell for stealing ideas (4) and for defamation (2) - all settled by Shell. This website is a permanent response by me to the malicious underhand tactics, including treachery, espionage and intimidation, used by Shell during and after the bouts of litigation. More information is printed at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: After a solicitor acting for Shell threatened to make the litigation "drawn out and difficult" with the intention of draining the resources of a financially weaker opponent, my late father (Alfred Donovan) and I decided to mount a wide-ranging campaign as a counter-measure. We jointly founded the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, which nearly 15% of Shell UK retailers joined. We regularly conducted ethical surveys involving up to 1500 Shell petrol stations. All responses were opened and authenticated by an independent solicitor who supplied Affidavits confirming the results. In whole page announcements in trade magazines (examples above) we challenged Shell to commission and publish the resuits of independent research asking the same questions and offering respondents GUARANTEED anonymity. Shell never took up the invitation. Instead it asked the UK Advertising Standards Authority to investigate our Shell surveys. No problems were found. The head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.

SHELL CONTROVERSIES

selection of memorable warnings/articles/images associated with the controversial track record of Royal Dutch Shell.

WARNING: DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR IDEAS TO SHELL GameChanger OR SHELL Ideas360 WITHOUT TAKING EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION. Shell management has ample funds to pay for intellectual property but prefers to steal it from small businesses and in our experience, gives its full backing to dishonest managers willing to do its bidding. We have sued Shell repeatedly in the High Court for the theft of our Intellectual Property. It is doubtful if anyone can match our dire experience in dealing with this ruthless unscrupulous serial poacher of other parties ideas. Expect threats, legal machinations and sinister action from Shell and its spooks if you object to having your ideas stolen.

Some years ago extensive documentary evidence was brought to the attention of Malcolm Brinded above, when he was Chairman of Shell UK, proving beyond any doubt that Shell executives had conspired to rig a tender for a major contract. A number of innocent firms were deliberately lured into signing confidentiality agreements and disclosing Intellectual Property to Shell under false pretences, in a carefully contrived plot. The firm which was awarded the contract never took part in the tender. One objective of the Machiavellian plan was to stop/delay IP trade secrets owned by the participants in the tender from being disclosed to Shell's rivals. This was achieved by outright deception, without paying a cent to the firms involved, who wrongly believed they were participating in an honest tender. Instead of sacking the ring leader, AJL - who had a personal relationship with the firm which miraculously won the race in which it never ran - Shell senior directors, including Brinded, gave AJL their full backing. Some of the Shell executives involved, including for example, Tim Hannagan, still hold high positions inside Shell - in his case, Global Brand and Visual Identity Manager. If Shell does not accept that this is a true, provable account of what happened, then it should sue for libel. How on earth is such predatory conduct compatible with Shell's claimed business principles?

NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.

MORE INFORMATION
Shell appeased and collaborated with the Nazis. The oil giant instructed its employees in the Netherlands to complete a form giving particulars about their descent, which for some, amounted to a self-declared death warrant. Shell used slave labor and was a close business partner in Germany of I.G. Farben, the notorious Nazi run chemical giant that also used slave labor and supplied the Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children. Shell continued the partnership with the Nazis in the years after the retirement of Sir Henri and even after his death. It was money generated on Shell forecourts around the world, profiteering from cartel oil prices, that funded the Nazi party and saved it from financial collapse. Evidence about Shell's Nazi connections can be found in extracts from "A History of Royal Dutch Shell" Volumes 1 and 2 authored by historians paid by Shell, who had unrestricted access to Shell archives. There are 67 pages in total, so takes some time to download.

Photograph (full size here) shows a Swastika flag flying at the head office of Royal Dutch Petroleum, 30 Carel van Bylandtlaan, The Hague, during the Nazi occupation of the in World War II (From Image Database Hague Municipal)

Sir Henri Deterding, the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group - known as "The Most Powerful Man in the World" - who became an ardent Nazi and financial supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party.